The 2012 Olympic triathlon featured the closest women's finish in the event's history, decided by a photo finish of 15 centimetres.
Key Facts
- Venue
- Hyde Park, London
- Total competitors
- 110 triathletes from 39 countries
- Women's race date
- 4 August 2012
- Men's race date
- 7 August 2012
- Women's margin of victory
- 15 centimetres — photo finish
- Australia's Olympic triathlon medals
- 5 (most in history to that point)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As part of the 2012 Summer Olympics programme, triathlon events were scheduled at Hyde Park in London. The sport had been part of the Olympic programme since Sydney 2000, contested over the standard international distance of a 1.5 km swim, 43 km cycle, and 10 km run.
The women's race on 4 August ended in an extraordinary photo finish, with Switzerland's Nicola Spirig beating Sweden's Lisa Nordén by 15 centimetres, both recording the same time; Australia's Erin Densham took bronze. In the men's race on 7 August, Alistair Brownlee won gold ahead of Javier Gómez and his brother Jonathan Brownlee.
Great Britain led the medal tally with gold and bronze in the men's event. Switzerland became the first nation to win two Olympic triathlon gold medals, while Australia accumulated its fifth Olympic triathlon medal, the most of any nation at that point in the sport's Olympic history.
Result
at Hyde Park, London